The Future of Telemedicine

Healthcare is on the verge of a technological breakthrough with Telemedicine leading the efforts. If you haven't tried the service yet I recommend you give it a go for your next visit. The American consumer has been able to save both time and money with the ability to video conference a medical professional on demand. Telehealth services give the patient the ability connect with a physician to diagnose an ailment at the convenience of your own home. With the costs per visit down to $40-50 out of pocket versus an in-person clinic visit of +$100, the growing demand is clear for telehealth. You can test telehealth services with any of these top providers: Teladoc (TDOC), Doctor on Demand, MDLive, and American Well.

Like most people, I wasn't immediately comfortable speaking with an unknown physician over the phone when I received the recommendation through my insurance company, Oscar. As telehealth becomes more widespread, consumers can take more comfort with virtual doctors. Recently CVS announced that it too will work with three telehealth companies to expand its access to care. Leading the efforts in consumer care, CVS successfully launched 1,000 MinuteClinics across the a country to broaden its in-house services. It seems that patients are beginning to prefer seamless access to care over visiting their primary clinician. As the demand for telehealth continues to grow, virtual medical practices will certainly disrupt the future of healthcare and be essential in reducing the cost of care.

At the time of this commentary Vijar Kohli, his family and/or clients of Golden Door Asset Management held no positions in the stocks mentioned above — although positions can change at any time.

Vijar Kohli is also the publisher of CareStocks, a newsletter focusing in on healthcare services, medical equipment, technology and real estate stocks. More information to the newsletter can be found at www.carestocks.com.